Just wondering ... what is everyone reading now?

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Back to re-reading some Bill Bryson. Just finished(Again) A Walk In The Woods, and wrapping up Sun Burnt Country.

Bill Bryson can wrestle a laugh out of just about anything. I liked his Notes From a Small Island. Do I recall correctly that he once gave a description of giant worms on display in Australia? Someone did that had me almost literally rolling on the floor, and I think he was the culprit. Have made note of Sun Burnt - wait; was that Australia? Thanks for the happy recalls.
 
Bill Bryson can wrestle a laugh out of just about anything. I liked his Notes From a Small Island. Do I recall correctly that he once gave a description of giant worms on display in Australia? Someone did that had me almost literally rolling on the floor, and I think he was the culprit. Have made note of Sun Burnt - wait; was that Australia? Thanks for the happy recalls.


yeah, it was in A Sunburned Country, perhaps one of my favorites from him, by far.
 
I'm reading John Grisham's The Client after catching the last half of the movie and loving the story. It won't last long at the rate I'm reading it. I really am enjoying the Reggie Love character.
 
I've read plenty of Grisham's novels, particularly his earlier ones. If you enjoy The Client be sure to read A Time to Kill, The Firm and The Pelican Brief, the three that preceded the one you're reading.

I enjoyed his earlier works more than his later works and haven't read many of the ones he's written in the last several years. I see he's scheduled to release three new novels this year, very prolific!
 
I've already read the three you mentioned, Greg. I'm a voracious reader. I hadn't even heard about The Client, and was kind of tired of Grisham anyway, but this story really grabbed my attention.
 
Z, or anybody else, have you ever started reading a book and then realized you read the same book years before? For that reason about 20 years ago I started keeping a log of each book I read (title and author), date finished and a one word rating (fair, good, excellent, etc.). I've found my list useful when recommending books to friends because I can tell them which of an author's novels I liked best. It's also helpful since I can access it from the library online to ensure I'm not checking out a book I've already read.

I've read over 3,000 books in the last two decades, about 60 a year. I guess my reading is a bit voracious too. :)

Ironically I'm currently reading L'Amour's Haunted Mesa for the second time, but on purpose! :)
 
Although the library only lists one other of her books, I'm looking forward to Stef Penney again. Just finished The Tenderness of Wolves, set in 1867 on the northern shore of Georgian Bay. Lots of characters, lots of plots, lots of cruel weather. A reviewer at my library called it "a rattling good yarn." Hudson Bay Company, fur trappers, Norwegian settlers, perhaps the first written Indian language; had less talk of wolves than I expected, but they were central to a story line -- a couple of young girls out to gather berries disappeared completely; wolves were blamed.

tinlizzie,

See if your library has a copy of The Children's Blizzard by David Laskin. It is the true story of the 1888 blizzard that was the basis of the Laura Ingalls Wilder book The Long Winter. It is a very interesting little piece of history.
 
I found a little book in our local secondhand bookstore, just started reading it - looks good so far.
'The Island', by Victoria Hislop....a historical fiction about an island named Spinalonga, off Crete. I love travel and history fiction.
 
Yes, thank you Aunt Bea, and Soma, too. I have requested both titles from my library. Oh boy! Two new books & authors! :wub: :flowers:
 
Love Bryson ... a soft spot in my heart since whenever I read something of his I think of being on a bus in Slovenia, meeting an Aussie (he, my husband, and I were the only English speakers for miles around) and him telling me I obviously love the English language (I'd never thought of myself that way) and recommending one of his books for me. I rarely re-read, but that one I do once in awhile.
 
Right now I'm reading river of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh. It's the sequel to Sea of Poppies which I read a few weeks ago. It's easier going than the latter was. I don't know if I'm getting used to the pidgin or what! But obviously I must have gotten caught up in the characters enough to pick up the sequel.
 
I am 2/3's of the way through Hunger Games. I am enjoying the story, it does keep moving. We picked up the second two at Costco last weekend.
 
hunger games is a compelling story based on an utterly abhorrent premise. suzanne collins deftly shepherds us through repeated scenes of human exploitation and carnage, still *hungering* for that romantic and happy storybook ending. suzanne collins is truly a modern day literary wizard.

additionally, suzanne wizard is giving the green light to the upcoming movie of her book, praising both the director and actors for bringing an honest and faithful portrayal of her story to the screen. she reserves a special commendation for the female lead actor of the hunger games, and credits the film for bringing an extra visual layer of reality to her story.

i don't know about you, but this is the first time i'm hearing an author warmly embracing the handling of her work by the movie-makers. sweet.... :)
 
I'm reading "St. Peter's" by James Lees-Milne.

It's a comprehensive history of Vatican City which is entertaining, fascinating and dizzying all at the same. He presents the facts and stories at a furious pace and I find myself re-reading sentences but thus far it's a very cool read.
 
I am reading How to Cook a Wolf by MFK Fisher.

Her take on how to deal with shortages and rationing during WWII.

Dated but, interesting
 
I've heard of "eating crow" but I've also heard that the meat of meat eaters can be rather distasteful. I recall that's what Jane Auel said in her Clan of the Cave Bear ("Earth's Children" ???) series.

I can't think of any predator that we humans favor eating, at least not in the mammal category.
 
This was a reply in a different topic but I've re-posted this in the current topic because I didn't want any book worms to miss the subject:

OMG I'm glad there are other John D. MacDonald fans of his Travis McGee mystery/action series! :) There are 21 novels in the series, each named after a color: The Deep Blue Goodbye, Nightmare in Pink, A Purple Place for Dying, ... -- the first three in the series, the whole series published between 1964 and 1985. I've realized there are probably more MacDonald novels not in the McGee series that I haven't read--and looking forward to researching which they are and reading them. (MacDonald died in '86 not long after his last McGee novel was published.)

I highly recommend John D. MacDonald's series about Travis McGee, a sort of self employed private detective who always seemed to be more about setting things right than making any money, but somehow his exploits always seemed to be cash productive--and his policy was to split the proceeds between whoever he was helping and himself--enough to keep his personally financed PI career going without paying clients. Think about it as fleecing bad guys and helping their victims.
 
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speaking of john d. macdonald...i stumbled across ROSS macdonald's books when i picked one up by mistake in a stack of travis mcgee novels i as buying at a used book store one day. i never bought another ross macdonald book by mistake again. his lew archer detective (read hard-boiled) stories are great reading fun. there are about twenty of them, and they are all offered as ebooks. i see that there are very few john d. macdonald books on kindle, however--SO unfair!!! c'mon now, amazon....
 
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